The kids in the park are great. They were the reason I had a job at the park. They were also the source of some 'issues' with the train operation.
For context, remember that the train run at Woodland park was not in a protected or fenced area. The only controlled or fenced area was the actual ride area around the amusement park, and the locked garage and tunnel area. The gates to the ride area were always open during operations. The tracks were outside of this fenced area. The tracks covered a pretty decent area, with most of the run out of sight from the staff at the amusement portion of the park. Some of the track was hidden from almost anyone as there were a fair number of trees and bushes all over. Also, the park itself, at the time I worked there, was open to the public, without any admittance charge, or security fences at all. This environment proved a temptation for more then a few of the little darlings from the neighborhood.
I was fortunate that the kids never realized that the most vulnerable portion of the track was the initial downhill curve just outside of the amusement area, past our lunch area picnic table and then towards the tunnel. The relative closeness to the busy park area, plus the coming and going of staff through the back gate into the park likely was a deterrent.
That downhill stretch had limited visibility (On a curve), and the spot that I most worried about was right at the bottom of the hill. I could use the vacuum brakes to stop the train, even going downhill, but the likelihood that I would be able to stop within my limited sight distance if I detected an obstruction on the track was iffy to say the least. I figured, if it was "me" trying to create a mishap, that I'd force a medium sized rock between the diverging rail of the trailing point switch near the bottom of the hill, and the train engine would be effectively derailed. I kept that knowledge pretty quiet.
Coming around the corner into the brief stretch of track that led thru the tunnel was the favorite spot for kids to create barricades. It was a very rare day that I did not have to at least once, stop the train and jog into the tunnel to remove something or other that the kids had placed on the rails. Some times, when there had been a windy period and larger branches had fallen in the park, the kids could make a pretty impressive roadblock in the tunnel. Other times, it would be smaller, but still troublesome rocks, coins or some other junk.
What the kids never understood was that the tunnel was by far the easiest place for me to see any obstruction on the track. As the train run was well used from daily operation, the tops of the rails didn't have any rust and were shiny. (And it didn't rain IN the tunnel). Light from the far opening of the tunnel made twin lines of glow as the light reflected off of the rail tops. In the tunnel, I could detect ANYTHING on the rails down to and including something as small as a penny. The kids were likely disappointed, but they never caught me not noticing anything left in the tunnel.
Now on to the next most popular area for the kids to have 'fun', the bridge. The bridge over the path to Lower Woodland was built much as a real bridge would be for full size trains. A second set of guard rails were present to protect against a serious accident. Well, the presence of that second set of rails, made it a favorite place for kids to jam rocks, tree branches, pop cans and other things between the main rails and the guard rails. Here I didn't have the advantage of the natural light detection system as I had in the tunnel. The area is in shade, the rails were dark, the weathered wood of the bridge was dark and I just didn't have a lot of contrast between the background color and the natural dark colors of the rocks and other debris. I was also navigating a couple of curves prior to the tunnel so didn't have a straight sight line along the rails there.
Most times, and fortunately for me, they would go way over board on piling junk in that area, no doubt hoping for a re-creation of the climactic scene from the movie "Bridge on the River Kwai". When they overdid it, it was easier for me to see the problem and once again, stop, jump out, clear the debris and look around for someone to scare a bit so they didn't do it again. When the kids were crafty, likely the junior high crowd, they did a pretty decent job of hiding the rock between the rails and they somehow figured out that a rock there would lift my engine's flanged wheel up over the track and, well, there was that movie scene as an inspiration. What gave them away, and saved my bacon on many a run was that the kids just had to stay and watch. And while they were watching, they were hiding, and talking and pointing and laughing together, all giving me clues that something was up. They never got me there either.
Where I did get tripped up was a place that was on my radar for a hazard, but that hazard was from the foot traffic on the trail that led from the south end of the Feline (Lions and Tigers) house, across my track at grade, and down under the afore mentioned bridge. The crossing here was constructed much as a 'real' crossing would have been. Parallel to the track planks were spiked down between the rails to provide a relatively flat surface for the crossing. The planks were made to be about level with the rails with a gap next to the inside of the rails for the flange ways of the train wheels.
Here, a very inventive little so and so, had jammed a piece of steel about 9 inches long, a quarter of an inch thick that tapered from about an inch to over three inches across. The fellow had jammed the steel vertically against the inside of a rail, with the planks as camouflage, and the far end of the steel butting against a rail joint bolt so that it wasn't pushed out of the way by the wheels. Sure enough, I was crossing this section and suddenly, my lead A engine, leading truck, was lifted just enough and then was thumping along on the ties rather then the rails. Fortunate for me, I was going slow, as required by the crossing and only lost that lead truck of the front engine of the G-16.
I announced to the passengers that I was sorry, but they would have to walk back to the station and amusement park. I also went back to the park, explained the situation to the boss and we formed a work team with large crow bars and auto type jacks to lift and reset the truck back on the rails where it belonged.
We caught the fellow and he had a long session with George, the boss. George likely scared him spit less, as George was pretty good at scaring all of US in his crew when he wanted to. I always looked pretty close at that area after that, but never had trouble there again.
Dad
Troublemakers.
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